Plaster Casting

We are meeting at the beach to do some plaster casting!
Meet at 5pm if you can... (or the normal time)

Directions

  1. South on Valley View
  2. turns into Bolsa Chica, keep going
  3. Right on Warner
  4. follow that to PCH and cross PCH
  5. There is free parking behind Jack in the Box (on your right)

Cell Numbers:
  • Glenn: 626-456-3246



Supplies

You should hook up in groups of about 4.
Each group of 4 will need:
  1. 2 Shovels - a big one for digging a big mold hole, and a small garden shovel for digging out your finished casting
  2. 25# of plaster
  3. 5-Gal bucket - spend 5 bucks (per team) on a big heavy 5 gal bucket - the smaller ones won't handle the sand and plaster and stuff we'll be mashing through them
  4. Stir Stick - 5 gallon size

Process

  1. Pick a spot near the water - too far ashore the sand is too dry, too close to the water... well... you know what waves do!
  2. Dig a hole you can insert an arm or leg into
  3. Insert an arm or leg
  4. Use bucket to get wet sand - have teammates pour it around the body part and pack it in
  5. remove body part carefully, trying not to damage your mold
  6. make one mold (or more) for each team member
  7. put plaster & water in bucket - stir fast & hard
  8. pour plaster in your molds
  9. wait about 25 minutes
  10. use garden shovel or hands to carefully dig out your casting trying not to break thin wrists or ankles or fingers or toes
  11. marvel at your creation! :)
  12. take cool photos of them on the beach
  13. post photos here on the wiki! :)
  14. Fill in all the holes on the beach - so nobody walks by later and falls in one!
  15. Pick up trash / clean up mess / leave beach a nice place
  16. Walk to Jack-in-the-Box and eat food! :)

Oh, by the way: when you're done, your bucket will have gobs of plaster all around the inside, and you'll be tempted to just throw it away. But if you wait a day for it to get nice and hard/brittle, then you can give the bucket a whack or two on the ground and everything will come right off and you'll have a perfectly good bucket! :)

Sculpt-Plaster-01.jpg
25# Plaster of Paris

Sculpt-Plaster-02.jpg
5-gal bucket

Sculpt-Plaster-03.jpg
Be sure to get big 5-gal stir sticks, not little 1-gal sticks!